NEW YORK (Frankfurt: HX6.F - news) , June 9 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks edged higher on Monday, pushing the Dow and S&P 500 to intraday record highs again after a series of deals, though Wall Street's fear gauge also bounced back.

If the S&P 500 ends higher on Monday, that will mark its 11th rise of the past 13 sessions, and its seventh record close of the past eight trading days.

The CBOE Volatility index rose 5.8 percent to 11.35 following its drop on Friday to its lowest level since February 2007. The VIX remains at nearly half of its historical average, which some analysts worry is a signal that the market is not fully accounting for issues that could derail the rally.

A flurry of merger activity gave investors a reason to buy some stocks on Monday. Merck (Dusseldorf: 6MK.DU - news) & Co said it has agreed to buy Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc (NasdaqGS: IDIX - news) in a deal valued at about $3.85 billion. Analog Devices Inc (NasdaqGS: ADI - news) said it would buy Hittite Microwave Corp in a deal valued at $2 billion.